Whirlpool refrig. problem

Soooo happy I found this thread. My Whirlpool Gold side-by-side GD5NHAXMQ00 is doing the same thing (no control LEDs no matter what though).

I swapped the fridge side door switch with no luck. Afterwards, I checked & the old one was fine...with voltage going to it. The yellow & white wires in the top of the fridge control unit (the 2 wires that power the fridge light) don't get power with the door switch in either position.

I pulled the control circuit board out of the back of the fridge & found sweet black mark on the box. The circuit board burned out one of the traces off a relay. Of course, it's at the trace's thinnest part. Looks like a design flaw to me. Here are some pix...

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Whirlpool refrig. problem

My problem started off the same... lights flickering and buzzing noise, and when I removed all the lightbulbs the display would come back on and the buzzing would stop. I tested all the bulbs and replaced the one that was burnt out. The lights started flickering and the buzzing noise persisted. The noise and the lights finally stopped for good, after about 10 minutes of fuzzing with it. The next day I came home from work to find out that the entire frig/freezer had shut down and everthing was defrosting. It would not have been so devastating if my chest freezer hadn't quit two weeks earlier.

After reading your post, I discovered this is a common problem with Whirlpool's side by side frig/freezers. Why hasn't Whirlpool done a recall? This is poor workmanship, plain and simple. What should have been a simple lightbulb change has turned into... replacing a circuit board...replacing spoiled food and time missed from work. I bought a Whirlpool Gold thinking I was buying the best. What a joke. Whirlpool had already lost my business with earlier problems with the same frig. I am to the point where I am seriously thinking of hiring a lawyer to pursue legal action against Whirlpool.
Again, thanks to all who posted. It is nice to know that this problem is not mine alone.

Whirlpool refrig. problem

I got my new ciruit board today and lo and behold it's not the same part . Whirlpool found out the orignal part was defective and designed a replacement part and instead of recalling the defective part, is making the end consumer pay. The new ciruit board is stamped "Whirlpool 2004" instead of ITW. Therefore they have known about this problem for over 4 years. Since before my purchase date. This smell like a class action suit to me. Go to http://www.complaintsboard.com/ for justice.

Whirlpool refrig. problem

Thanks for everyone posting their experience. I have also suffered the burn of p/n 2252189 on my 3-year old Whirlpool Gold. Repaired with p/n 2304095. We are victims of shoddy workmanship. My board has the exact same burn mark as others have described, at K2. Repairman just finished up, nice enough to leave the old part so I could look up other's experience.

Whirlpool refrig. problem

Quote:

Originally Posted by kent614

Thanks for everyone posting their experience. I have also suffered the burn of p/n 2252189 on my 3-year old Whirlpool Gold. Repaired with p/n 2304095. We are victims of shoddy workmanship. My board has the exact same burn mark as others have described, at K2. Repairman just finished up, nice enough to leave the old part so I could look up other's experience.

Whirlpool is one of the best out their and I was really shocked when this happened to my less than 2 year old fridge. Just out of warranty.
After spending so much money for what I thought was a very well made unit to have to fix this at my expence realy stinks. "We are victims of shoddy workmanship" from whoever made the board for Whirlpool the first go round.
Now that their is a new board, we know they knew it also!
I have 4 kids, I don't have extra $$ lying around for a new appliance to need repairs What ever happened to the 30 year fridge?

Whirlpool refrig. problem

Many thanks to those who have already posted here. The cumulative info saved me between $200-$300. My Whirlpool Gold GS5SHAXNQ00 side-by-side fridge was doing exactly what has alredy been described. At 2 1/2 to 3 years of age, the lights all went out on the fridge side, the number display for the temperature settings went out, and a rapid (and distressed sounding) clicking came from what sounded like a gone-crazy relay switch every time we opened the door. The compressor continued to cool. When I removed all the light bulbs from the fridge side, the number display came back on--but it stayed on even when the door switch was pushed in. I discovered that one of the three light bulbs was blown.

I opened up the circuit board compartment in the back (and yes, it's very easy to do this, even with limited fix-it experience) and looked for char marks. They were indeed there, both on the board itself and on the white plastic casing in EXACTLY the same spot as already shown in the pictures posted above on this thread. I called Whirlpool to explore whether they might do the right thing and replace the board, which absolutely HAS to be defective, considering the multiple parallel reports posted here, but, of course, they wouldn't. I did verify from them that the old board had been "rendered obsolete" but they wouldn't say why. (I think we know why, though!) They confirmed that the board P/N had changed from 2252189 to 2304095. So I ordered it from Appliance Parts Specialists at http://www.myapplianceparts.com/. They had the best price - $108 including shipping. (They shipped immediately and I got the part in less than a week.) I unplugged the old board, popped the new one in, held my breath, and plugged the fridge back into the wall. Everything worked perfectly. Oh, before I did that, I put all new bulbs into the fridge.

So, here's my theory for why this is happening: The reason everybody is reporting a 2-3 year time lag before the board fries is that it's a blown bulb that causes it. And it would logically take about that much time for a brand new bulb to reach the end of its lifespan. Then, when it blows, it triggers a surge that fries that one contact point on the printed circuit. That, in turn, causes the weird symptoms. I'm determined to change all bulbs once a year from now on whether they need it or not (with the fridge uplugged) to make sure this doesn't happen again. The new P/N board may be designed to be OK when a bulb blows, but I can't count on that. Hope this post, and the others in this thread help others who have this problem to not have to call a service tech and pay so much more than is needed to fix it....

Whirlpool refrig. problem

Having the same problem with my Whirlpool - Model GD5RHAXNQ00. Identical symptoms - Refrigerator lights stopped working, Control LED's stopped working. When refrigerator door was opened, loud arcing, chattering from control board. The arc/burn marks were identical to those posted earlier in this thread. I called Whirlpool today and they said they don't have any "quality issues" on record for this type of problem and said they are NOT willing to help me defray the cost. This will be the last Whirlpool product I purchase!

Whirlpool refrig. problem

I am unfortunately the latest to join this Whirlpool club. Model GD5SHAXNQ00, another Whirlpool Gold victim. It certainly sounds as if there is a common defect here. I have not torn into the fridge yet, but I believe I know what I will find.
Thanks to those who have posted their fixes!

Whirlpool refrig. problem

Thanks so much for this information. This happened to my refrigerator word for word. I ordered the board and saved alot of $. I will not be buying anything Whirlpool again. Can you believe they do business like this???

Whirlpool refrig. problem

I have the same exact problem that has been described numerous times here, same chattering relay, same burned board. I bought my Whirlpool "gold" fridge at Lowes. and it is 2 1/2 years old. I had to have it repaired 2 times already (under warranty ) within the first few months of owning it due to a faulty thermo switch in the freezer. Now this!

I was lucky enough to have been suckered into the 5 year appliance protection plan from Lowes. THeir Service guy came out this morning and by this afternoon had scheduled to come back in a day. I guess that the local parts center had 4 of these in stock which means something according to him. Glad I bought the warranty, although I am really unhappy with how Whirlpool is acting.

Here's an idea Whirlpool, Quit Making JUNK and wasting my time! Are we consumers really asking too much ? shouldn’t a fridge (especially the prestigious “Gold”series) last more than 2 years? I guess I should have looked for the Platinum series or do they make an iridium, or )dare I even say) rhodium series?

To be quite honest, I would gladly pay top dollar for the Adamantium series with full 24/7 support and a fully redundant , closed loop, EMP shielded , hermetically sealed control system, plugged into a dual UPS system housed in a titanium case and protected by a razor wire fence, armed guards, and vicious attack dogs (which are actually rabid wolf hybrids). Then maybe the fridge would still be working and I wouldn’t be here ranting. But much like Adamantium, such a thing does not exist,

There should be a lemon law on appliances. Anybody have any ideas how we can sue Whirlpool, Lowes or somebody? Hey, I’m not being greedy, I ‘m just using the same rational they are to make an extra buck.

Last edited by JSKRETCH; 02-11-2008 at 05:22 PM.
Reason: clarifications

Whirlpool refrig. problem

Well Guess What?
I did a google search on my Whirlpool Gold model GS5SHA*N*0* and I found you guys. My fridge is 2 y.o. and this is the first problem I have had.
Tried changing bulbs like everyone else to no avail. Has anyone called Whirlpool for an explanation?
My bulb flickers and when I remove it the display lights resume working. Can I assume if I do not correct the problem that other things will begin to occur?
Thanks